Three Plus Two
by turbomagnus
Summary: Reptilla28's challenge... with a twist of lemon, wrapped around a gold brick, so to speak... Daphne Greengrass, Su Li and Susan Bones have been charged by Death with a sacred quest - to get Harry Potter together with his soulmate so that he can fulfill his destiny. H/Hr/Su Li/Susan/Daphne
1. 01 : The Ranks of Death

Author's Note: The 365 Project is an experimental _multi-fandom_ project to write and post at least one short every day for the next year, not including my semi-regular bi-weekly updates. For more details, see the relevent section in my profile. This is The 365 Project, 25 June.

In the immortal words of Samuel L. Clemens... "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR."

Reptilla28's challenge... with a twist of lemon, wrapped around a gold brick, so to speak...

Disclaimer: "Harry Potter" and all related characters and situations are the creation and property of J.K. Rowling, used for entertainment purposes without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

-o0O0o-

"Three Plus Two"

By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

-o0O0o-

"Death isn't the handicap it used to be in the olden days." - Third Technician Dave Lister, "Red Dwarf", Series One, Episode One; 'The End'.

-o0O0o-

* * *

Daphne Greengrass was led into an office and looked around to see that in addition to the bespectacled man sitting behind the desk, two other girls she recognised from Hogwarts were also there.

"This here's the last one, sir," the uniformed man who has escorted her to the office announced.

"Thank you, Todd, just leave her," the man behind the desk said coldly without looking up from his work.

"As you say, sir," Todd clicked his heels before spinning on one and marching out the door.

Daphne was confused, "Um..."

"Quiet!" the man behind the desk snapped, "I'm in no mood to hear excuses from anyone today. Great Maker, is it that be-damned hard for _one person _to fulfill their destiny? Really? I'm going to get _fired_, it's all that Potter boy's fault... His Guardian Angel's already been given the boot! And I'm next! I've already been up for review, now that he's died again, they're going to ask me to clean out my desk and leave my Departmental I.D. with security on the way out, it's a given. No one's ever died this many times without fulfilling their destiny... and you three _haven't helped matters any_!"

The man picked up a file from the stack sitting on the corner of his desk and tossed it at Daphne, "First year; beaten to death by a troll; eaten by a Cerebus; fell from a broom; eaten by a Cerebus again; another troll; poisoned by a blasted logic puzzle; killed by Voldemort."

The next file tossed hit one of the other girls - Su Li, a dark haired Ravenclaw born in British Hong Kong - in the chest, "Second year; killed by a Basilisk stare on Halloween; killed by a rogue bludger; bitten by a poisonous snake at Dueling Club...

Almost as if heralded by the snake comment, there was particular venom in his voice when he continued, "_Lynched by the students of Hogwarts for being a Parselmouth_... Killed by a returned Tom Riddle after being delayed in arriving to the Chamber of Secret; killed by Basilisk poison; oh, yes, and let's not forget the 'Death of Personality' that happened thanks to that idiot imitation educator, even if he was still physically alive, he wasn't Harry Potter anymore, so he couldn't fulfill his destiny."

"_Third _year," The last of the three girls in the room - Susan Bones, Hufflepuff niece of DMLE head Amelia Bones - was ready to catch the file when it was thrown at her, "Soul devoured by Dementors on the Hogwarts Express; struck by lightning during a stupid quidditch game; killed by Peter Pettigrew after being used as a hostage against Sirius Black; beaten to death by the Whomping Willow; died pushing Black out of the way of Severus Snape's Sectumsempra; killed by out-of-control werewolf; soul devoured by Dementors - again..."

Fourth year's file went to Su Li, "Died jumping from the stands at the Quidditch World Cup thanks to Veela allure; killed by Death Eaters at the World Cup; killed by Karkaroff after his name came out of the Goblet of Fire; killed by dragons, not once, but _twice_; died from overdose of 'Notice-Me' potions keyed to Ginny Weasley - not counting times he did from other causes because of those damn potions distracting him..."

"Wait, the Weaslette?" Daphne spoke up, "Then why was he chasing Chang that year and fifth?"

"Let's see," the man rolled his eyes, holding up a hand to fore-stall Su Li's comment, "The potions were supposed to attract him to someone who had _nothing _in common with him but Quidditch and the fact that she looks like his mum; even if he doesn't know what real love is mentally, in his heart he still loves his soulmate, some Granger girl, because of her loyalty and intelligence; he fights the potion, but it still has an effect... and you ask why he was chasing after a girl with enough intelligence to be in Ravenclaw, enough loyalty to have a Hufflepuff for a boyfriend and whom he had nothing in common with but Quidditch? Getting pulled one way by his heart and soul and another by potions, you can't figure out why he ended up going for the middle ground? Are you _that _damn stupid? And you, Miss Li, experienced a different life of Harry Potter than Miss Greengrass did is why he was with you and not 'chasing Chang' as Miss Greengrass put it."

He sighed, "In your life, despite the fact that you escorted him to the Yule Ball - because certain charms were used on his soulmate so that she'd never think to offer herself as his escort - he still cared for her and the indecision he faced under the Black Lake caused him to delay and drown when his gillyweed ran out... In his next life, the one Miss Greengrass and Miss Bones remember, he survived the Black Lake only to die multiple times in the Third Task and in the Little Hangleton graveyard during Riddle's return."

Another file ended up in the redhead's hands, "Fifth year, Miss Bones, should be familiar to you; he died over the summer when his soul was devoured by Dementors; died after being possessed by one of Riddle's horcrux at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place; died of blood loss due to overuse of a blood quill in detention; Death of Personality thanks to Snape losing his temper during Occulmancy lessons that were just a cover for weakening Potter more; died by overdose of illegally administered Veritaserum..."

"The fight at the Ministry," Susan whispered, remembering the life she had lived with Harry, "He fell through the Veil of Death saving Sirius Black..."

With dawning horror, Susan reached up and pulled a lock of hair down where she could see it; it wasn't the same red as the Weasleys, but a darker red, leaning towards brown, almost like a mid-point between them, "The 'Notice-Me' potions you mentioned, they were in fifth year, too, weren't they?"

The man behind the desk took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "I'm sorry, I know you felt something for him yourself, that was real... but yes, like Miss Chang, his interest in you came from the conflict between his soul and the potions."

Silently, Daphne reached out and picked the next file up from the man's desk, but she didn't open it, "He was abandoned by his friends, Granger kept calling him a cheat and a lunatic... Malfoy was acting strange, sneaking around... we were both trying to find out what he was up to... I went with him to Slughorn's party... Snape killed him, threw him from the Astronomy Tower when he made his escape... I remember crying over his body when we finally found it, Father paid for his funeral since no one else seemed to care about him..."

The man behind the desk nodded as he replaced his glasses, "That wasn't his only death that year, but yes..."

He reached out and tapped one of the two remaining files, "This is his seventh year; possessed by Riddle's horcrux, killed at Malfoy Manor, killed by Riddle's Ministry, killed by Riddle himself... and do you know why? Do any of you know _why?_"

The three girls looked at each other, then back to the man behind the desk and shook their heads.

"_Because a Dark Lord wouldn't leave him the hell alone!"_ The man thundered, "It's a simple be-damned destiny; defeat Riddle, marry his soul-mate, support her as she forces the British wizarding world to grow out of the damned Dark Ages, and live to a nice century and four-fifths age as the patriarch of the most influential magical family in Britain. But does he get to? _No!_ Because some self-righteous, hypocritical bigot decides that it's more important to keep him 'safe' than train him to fight the people he's supposed to be 'safe' from, because they can't understand that what they think is best _isn't always right_, because they think it's more important to forgive the guilty than to protect the innocent, because they keep thinking that he doesn't know enough to make the right decisions _while ignoring the fact that they're why he doesn't know enough..._"

"Keeping him safe, forgiveness.." Susan's jaw dropped, "You're saying _Dumbledore_ is a Dark Lord?"

The man snorted, "Well, he's sure not the 'Leader of the Light', no matter what he's claimed. What the hell is that even supposed to mean, anyways? Do you even know what his precious 'Greater Good' is? Here's a hint, he came up with it one summer along with his boyfriend Grindlewald. Now think about it, use that one square foot of real estate in your heads for something, if Grindlewald was Dark and Dumbledore was his best friend and lover, what really makes you think Dumbledore is any better? More subtle, yet, but still Dark."

"Well said," a voice spoke up from the doorway, causing the man behind the desk to jump to his feet and the three girls to turn in surprise.

"Lor-Lord Peverell," the man stammered, "Great Maker, don't tell me that I'm fired already, oh, Maker, not already... I..."

"Quit snivelling," Lord Peverell groaned as he walked into the room and pushed the man in glasses out of the way to sit down at his desk, "I hate it when people... snivel. Go do it somewhere else."

The man in glasses looked at Lord Peverell, then down at his shoes as he trudged out of the room.

"Now, we have an interesting situation here," Peverell addressed the three girls, "We have a Fated One on his last return without completing his destiny yet, his soulmate who's been kept from him with potions and spells by a Dark Lord... and three girls who _aren't_ his soulmate yet still feel true love for him. When was the last time this happened...?"

Peverell appeared to be in thought for a moment before commenting, "Never! Congratulations, this is a first in the history of the Death Department. I'll have to have a discussion with the Department Head of Love after we're through here."

Su Li raised an eyebrow in curiousity.

"Love is a power that transcend even Death," Peverell explained, "It's the chosen power of Powerful Goodness and between the three of you and his soulmate, there's enough love for Mister Potter to allow us to bend the rules and send him back one more time."

"But there's a catch, isn't there," Daphne stated.

"Of course," Peverell admitted, "In this case, the catch is that because of his weak mental shields and inability to know when to follow authority and when to rebel, it's been decided by a conference of Department Heads that he, quite simply, can't be trusted with the knowledge of the truth. So instead, we intend to send him back to his third year... along with the three of you."

"Us?" Su Li asked, "But he doesn't even know us in third year..."

"He'll spend three weeks in Diagon Alley before the year starts and electives are cross-house," Peverell informed them, "Let him get to know you."

Peverell waved his hand over the desk and three forms with quills laying on them appeared on it, "And these are the forms you need to sign saying that I explained all of this to you and that you understand you'll be going back with your memories and if you flutz this up, Mister Potter's out of chances and the magical world's probably doomed to a fate of tyranny and eventual destruction."

All three girls looked at him in disbelief.

"You were an inspirational speaker before you died, weren't you?" Su Li finally asked.

"Actually, keeping my brothers out of trouble was a full-time job," Peverell replied, "Sign here at the top, here at the bottom and inital here, if you would."

The three girls exchanged a look before each of them picked up a quill and filled out a form.

"Now what?" Susan demanded as they laid the quills down.

Peverell nodded down at the quills and the girls watched as they changed from feather quills to a fire opal gemstone split into three parts, each part a former quill, "If each of you will take a _girasol_?"

Daphne picked up a fire opal fragment and frowned, "What are these for?"

"_Girasol _are stones of life energy and spiritual power," Su Li observed as she picked one up herself, "Some say that the stronger the inner goodness of a person, the brighter the stone appears."

"Very good, Miss Li," Peverell nodded as Susan took the last stone, "As for their purpose, they each contain a third of the sum total of Mister Potter's memories from his past lives. When all three of you are in agreement that he's reached the point where he can be trusted with the knowledge - all three of you, I say again - you will be able to re-fuse the fragments into a single stone and use it to restore his memories. Understood?"

The three girls looked at the fire opals in their hands, then each gave Lord Peverell a nod.

"Good. One more thing... I don't care if you three have to pull them into an orgy with you; _get Potter and Granger together_," Peverell rumbled.

The three girls glanced at each other with faint tinges of pink in their cheeks.

"Now" Peverell stood up and walked around the desk, "If you'll follow me, we'll get you sent back and I can move on to dealing with that Reaper of Mister Potter's..."

When Peverell opened the door and held it, gesturing for the girls to go first, Susan stopped in the doorway, "Why are you so concerned that Harry fulfills his destiny? It doesn't seem like it's the consequences..."

"Of course I care about the consequences, Miss Bones," Lord Peverell looked affronted, "The magical world still has an important part to play in the overall history of the world."

Susan gave him the hard 'we can do this the easy way or the hard way, but one way or another you're going to tell me what I want to know' stare that she had learned from her aunt.

"And I may take a certain personal interest in him as one of my last surviving descendants," Peverell admitted calmly, "Now, come along, after me, to the Resurrection Room so we can get you all sent back."


	2. 02 : Destination: Third Year

Author's Note: The 365 Project is an experimental _multi-fandom_ project to write and post at least one short every day for the next year, not including my semi-regular bi-weekly updates. For more details, see the relevent section in my profile. This is The 365 Project, 27 June.

In the immortal words of Samuel L. Clemens... "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR."

To answer a question posed by PM; Since this isn't intended to be as serious or as detailed a story as 'Scarred Drums', yes, it should be updated more often... that doesn't mean it will, though, unfortunately, as my own bad habits when it comes to writers' block and getting distracted by other projects still will have an effect.

Disclaimer: "Harry Potter" and all related characters and situations are the creation and property of J.K. Rowling, used for entertainment purposes without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

-o0O0o-

"Three Plus Two"  
'Destination: Third Year'  
By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

-o0O0o-

"All Minbari belief is around three. Three castes - warrior, worker, religious. Three languages - Light, Dark, and Grey. The Nine of the Grey Council - three times three. All is three... as you are three. As you are one... as you are The One." - Zathras, "Babylon 5", 'War Without End, pt. 2'.

-o0O0o-

* * *

Li family home,  
British Hong Kong

Half-dressed with only a bra covering the upper half of her body, Su Li paced her room in frustration; she was the daughter of a British witch who worked for the government in Hong Kong and a Hong Kong police officer and thus was able to attend Hogwarts School like her mother had before Jennifer Li had left the magical world. The cause of Su Li's frustration was simple; even with her parent's positions, she couldn't just grab an international portkey and pop over to England whenever she wanted. Most of her school shopping was done in Hong Kong's own magical areas, so she couldn't even use that as an excuse to go to England and Diagon Alley. Su Li's hand went to the locket around her neck that was currently closed to hold a third of a fire opal, Harry was in danger from so many quarters and there was no way for her to get to him to offer any help until September. The fact that there was so much she could do to help him, so much she wanted to do to help him, and she couldn't do any of it frustrated Su Li to no end, it just made her want to explode or punch something.

Or both.

Su Li snarled and punched out at the nearest wall and was surprised to see her fist become covered in blue fire as she swung and scorch the wall when she hit it. Su Li looked at her hand and the wall in disbelief, she'd always thought her father's cousin was just being family when she said that Su Li could become someone like her one day. Magical or not, she'd never actually considered the possibility that she had it in her to do some of the things that her father's cousin could do, but if she could...

Su Li turned towards her closet; first she had to find that training outfit, then she had to see if her father's cousin could give her a crash-course of training before she had to head to Hogwarts...

* * *

-o0o-

Greengrass Manor,  
Shetland Island,  
United Kingdom

Daphne Grontgress - 'Greengrass' to the people who her family lived among - knocked on the door to her father's study. The 'Light-sided' families saw him as 'Dark' because he refused to allow anyone outside his family to tell them how to live - including and especially Albus 'Leader of the Light' Dumbledore - and the 'Dark' families thought of him as 'Neutral' because while he didn't side with the 'Light', he wasn't one of their own number either. What Harold Greengrass was, in fact, was a man who looked after his family first, his friend second, business third and Heaven help those who sought harm to any of the three, whatever their claimed persuasion might be.

"Come in!" He called out, leading his daughter to open the door and enter the study, "Daphne..."

"Father," Daphne replied coming to a stop in front of his desk and nodding her head.

Harold put down the papers he was reading and looked at his eldest child, "What brings you to my study, daughter?"

"I ask permission to seek friendship with Harry Potter," Daphne answered.

Harold frowned; unlike many pureblood fathers, he chose not to actively interfere in his daughters' lives unless they did something which would reflect poorly upon the Greengrass name. He understood why his daughter had come to him; if she became friends with the 'Boy-Who-Lived', their assumed 'Neutrality' would end in the eyes of both sides, or worse - it would be believed they had somehow 'tainted' the Boy.

"Before this goes any further," Harold said, "I ask why."

"You taught me to think of all matters in the manner of business, Father," Daphne replied as she started to pace in front of her father's desk, "Do you remember when you taught me how to track profit and loss; know what product you have, who wants it and how much they would pay for it? How to know when your stocks and your accounting books don't match?"

"You learned it well," he praised her.

"I also learned to apply it to other parts of life, Father," Daphne added with a sigh of frustration as she paced, "Too much in Potter's life doesn't match between what I know and what we've been told. Too many things happen that don't have a good explanation... I think someone's trying to control Potter by controlling what information he has - I don't think he even knows about his parents' graves. I know that if you and Mama died, I'd visit your graves, but he's never mentioned his parents'."

Harold put his elbows on his desk and steepled his fingers, "I taught you profit and loss, Daughter, what do we profit and what do we lose?"

Daphne stopped pacing and looked at her father with a grim expression, "Everything to profit... and everything to lose."

"That's a very... undefined answer," Harold frowned.

"It's the truth, Father," Daphne answered, biting her lower lip, "Whoever's behind whatever's happening, Light or Dark, it won't be good for anyone if they're successful."

He wasn't a Legilimancer, but a successful businessman. Part of the reason that Harold Greengrass had become successful was that he knew how to read people, and looking into his elder daughter's eyes, he read that she fully believed what she was saying.

"Very well, Daughter, my permission is given," Harold announced.

"Thank you, Father," Daphne smiled as she leaned over her father's desk and threw her arms around his neck before releasing him to run out of the study.

When the door shut behind his daughter, Harold Greengrass looked up at the picture of one of his ancestors and snorted, "This is all your genetics, Great-Uncle Erik, it's your genes coming to the fore, I just know it. I just hope she doesn't follow too closely in your footsteps..."

Harold shook his head at thoughts of his daughter ravaging, plundering, pillaging and maiming like a Viking of old, even... he cringed at the thought of the last thing Erik Grontgress had been infamous for. He could almost hear his daughter giving out their ancestor's battlecry.

He couldn't know that outside of his study, his daughter's expression changed from happy to have permission to a calculating coldness as she began to plan how to make the lives of certain magicals on both sides of the Light-Dark split miserable to the point where they would have to find a whole new benchmark for the concept.

* * *

-o0o-

'The Boneyard'  
Bones Manor,  
West Midlands, England

Flooing home from the Ministry in London, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement ended up walking right into an ambush.

"Auntie, can you teach me some detection spells to find out if there's any curses or jinxes on an object?" Susan Bones asked before her aunt and guardian had even had time to regain her bearings.

Amelia Bones looked at her niece, the only child of her younger brother and adjusted her monocle in minor confusion, "Why do you need to learn those, Susan? You're only in third year and those are fifth and sixth year spells."

Susan's answer sent a shiver of dread down Amelia's spine, "Constant Vigilance, Auntie."

'Merlin,' Amelia thought, 'Don't let her turn into another Mad-Eye...'

* * *

-o0O0o-

Author's Note: In Su Li's case, please remember that Hong Kong wouldn't be under Chinese control until 1997, so during the time Harry, et. al. would be at Hogwarts, it was still British-controlled.  
And for Daphne's ancestor, I just couldn't resist the thought...


	3. 03 : Contact

Author's Note: The 365 Project is an experimental _multi-fandom_ project to write and post at least one short every day for the next year, not including my semi-regular bi-weekly updates. For more details, see the relevent section in my profile. This is The 365 Project, 10 July.

In the immortal words of Samuel L. Clemens... "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR."

Disclaimer: "Harry Potter" and all related characters and situations are the creation and property of J.K. Rowling, used for entertainment purposes without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

-o0O0o-

"Three Plus Two"  
"Contact"  
By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

-o0O0o-

"No battleplan survives contact with the enemy." - Murphy's Laws of Combat.

-o0O0o-

* * *

As he had every afternoon since arriving in Diagon Alley, Harry Potter sat at a table at Florian Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour reading his books for Third Year at Hogwarts School. He didn't notice that someone had sat down across from him at his table until they spoke.

"Is it true you caused someone to blow up like a balloon?" the girl asked.

Harry looked up and frowned, "How did you hear about that?"

"Oh, sorry," she really wasn't, but she had to act like it as she extended her hand across the table, "Susan Bones; my aunt is head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement - Obliviators, Reversal Squad and Underage Use of Magic technically all fall under her overall jurisdiction - and she's not really fond of Mathilda Hopkirk. Honestly, Auntie Amelia thinks Hopkirk is a secret bigot who abuses her position to attack anyone who's not a Pureblood since in the last ten years, since Auntie became head of the DMLE and all, Hopkirk has caused the expulsion and obliviation of at least one non-Pureblood a year and no Pureblood has even received a warning."

Harry blinked, causing Susan to blush.

"Sorry about that, I get on rants sometimes," Susan apologised and started to pull back her hand, only for Harry to reach out and shake it.

"No, I'm sorry - I didn't recognise you."

Susan looked affronted - though it was only an act, Harry didn't need to know that, "We've only had classes together for the last two years."

Harry thought for a moment, "Now I remember, you were the only girl in school who wasn't drooling over Lockhart."

"Blame it on how I was brought up," Susan shrugged, "My Aunt's a suspicious person and she passed it on to me."

"Harry Potter, but I guess you knew that already," he said before releasing Susan's hand, "...People like Malfoy don't get underage magic warnings?"

"What do you think happened to Sally-Ann?"

"Who?"

"That's right, you don't really talk to anyone outside of Gryffindor, do you?" Susan shook her head, "You really should sometimes. Do you remember Sally-Ann Perks? She would be in our year, a Hufflepuff like me, but she expelled for underage magic because she used a few Levitation and Resizing charms here in the Alley when she was doing her shopping for Second Year. "

Harry looked at her for a few moments, trying to put facts together in his mind; there was something there, just out of reach, something that seemed like it should be important.

"I know, my aunt is supposed to be head of the DMLE and over Hopkirk in the Ministry," Susan raised a hand, "She tries to do her job honestly and fairly... Unfortunately, she keeps running into a few problems. I think you've met a couple of them; Minister Fudge and Lucius Malfoy?"

At the elder Malfoy's name, Harry wrinkled his nose up in disgust.

"Yeah, I know," Susan looked downcast, "Half the time, Fudge bypasses Auntie entirely and the other half he's too busy telling her that his 'good and dear friend Lucius' couldn't possibly be a Death Eater and things like that. You remember what happened to Hagrid last year?"

Harry winced, he remembered what happened to Hagrid - and the encounter with Aragog and his children that came from Hagrid's parting words to 'Follow the spiders', "Unfortunately."

The redheaded Hufflepuff closed her eyes, "That kind of thing, I'm sad to say, happens far too often, Harry. What's really bad is that it used to be worse; the DMLE head before Auntie believed in 'guilty until proven innocent'. He thought suspected Death Eaters should just be thrown in Azkaban without wasting time on trials... fortunately for everyone else and too bad for him that his son turned out to be a proven Death Eater, he had to take a position in another department after the public outcry. That actually wasn't long after... you know..."

Susan's eyes opened and darted to Harry's scar to indicate when she meant, "I think it was the first or second week in November of that year, even..."

She stood up and smiled, "Sorry, I didn't mean to take up so much of your time - I just wanted to say hello nad introduce myself since the electives have more mixed classes with students from all the houses, just in case we shared any classes this year."

Harry didn't know how warm the return smile he gave her made her feel inside, "It's fine, I needed a break anyway; all of these books were starting to blend together and I don't think Ughnaught The Ungainly had anything to do with creating the first Muggle-Repelling Wards... did he?"

Susan shook her head and chuckled, "No, that was Carinae Black that did that."

"Black..." Harry's face seemed to darken, "Like the escaped murderer everyone's talking about, Sirius Black?"

"Same family," Susan answered, "But despite how people think, not everyone in a family is the same; you should try looking up Dorea Black sometimes."

Thinking about how he was nothing like his aunt, uncle or cousin, Harry nodded, "I'll do that, Susan."

Looking at a nearby clock, Susan frowned, "I'm sorry, Harry, I have to go. I'm supposed to meet Auntie for lunch and I don't need to be late."

"Uh... I don't know, tell her I said 'hello'? I guess that's what I'm supposed to say, something like that?" Harry asked.

Susan smiled at him again, "I'll tell her you said that, Harry. Enjoy your ice cream and studying."

When she walked away, Harry thought the smile on her face was because she had spoken to the famous 'Boy-Who-Lived', he never realised that Susan was smiling not only because she had spoken to the guy she still cared for, but also because of the seeds she had planted that now just needed time to grow...


	4. Interlude 01 : Prove It

Author's Note: The 365 Project is an experimental _multi-fandom_ project to write and post at least one short every day for the next year, not including my semi-regular bi-weekly updates. For more details, see the relevent section in my profile. This is The 365 Project, 11 July.

In the immortal words of Samuel L. Clemens... "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR."

Disclaimer: "Harry Potter" and all related characters and situations are the creation and property of J.K. Rowling, used for entertainment purposes without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

-o0O0o-

"Three Plus Two"  
"Interlude; Prove It"  
By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

-o0O0o-

* * *

Harry Potter was used to having weird dreams; he'd dreamt of a flying motorcycle all his life; after he had found himself on his primary school's roof, he had dreams of disappearing like that and ending up so far away that the Dursleys could never find him, only to be taken back anyway by some indistinct figure; ever since he'd started at Hogwarts, he'd dreamed of dying a dozen different ways each year, including a really scary dream where he didn't die but instead became trapped inside his own mind with no way out. It would be fair to say that Harry didn't like dreams, bad things always seemed to happen in his dreams. He wasn't sure what to make of this dream. There was some kind of class; it was close to the holidays because he could see the decorations; somebody was crying, but they ran away; then there was a pair of lips on his... Before he even had time to recover from his surprise and see who it was that was kissing him, Harry found himself at a table at Florian Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour reading his books for Third Year at Hogwarts School. He didn't notice that someone had sat down across from him at his table until they spoke.

"If you keep studying so hard, people will expecting you to think, you know," a female voice teased.

"I think!" Harry answered defensively, looking up from his books.

"Why don't you prove it sometime, then?" Susan Bones answered from across the table before the dream went fuzzy and faded away.


	5. 04 : Shaken Foundations

In the immortal words of Samuel L. Clemens... "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR."

Disclaimer: "Harry Potter" and all related characters and situations are the creation and property of J.K. Rowling, used for entertainment purposes without permission or intent to profit.

* * *

-o0O0o-

"Three Plus Two"  
'Shaken Foundations'  
By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

-o0O0o-

* * *

Harry was no longer sure which was bothering him more, the girl he'd met in the Alley the previous day or the dream he'd had the following night. It was strange that she'd - what had she said her name was, Susan, wasn't it? - suggested he look up information on the Blacks and then the dream-version of her accused him of not thinking. He didn't know what there was to think about, everyone knew that Sirius Black was an escaped murderer.

Except... when he started thinking, he thought about other things that 'everyone knew'; 'everyone knew' that Harry himself had grown up in a loving magical home; 'everyone knew' that Voldemort was dead and gone; 'everyone knew' that the Chamber of Secrets was a myth; 'everyone knew' Hagrid had released a monster in the school fifty years before; and if 'everyone knew' all of that, what did it say for it that 'everyone knew' Sirius Black was a traitor and Death Eater? What else was there in the magical world that 'everyone knew'?

Maybe just as important was another question; if Sirius Black being a traitor and Death Eater was something 'everyone knew', what did Susan know that she wasn't part of everyone? That she wasn't actually telling him, but wanting him to find out for himself, he wasn't sure what to think about that. He was used to looking for answers with Ron and Hermione, they'd been doing it for the last two years, but the answers had always seemed to be there when they needed them those times. This time, it was like there was nothing about Sirius Black anywhere, like everything had been destroyed as though they were trying to erase everything about him... but why? If he was just a traitor and Death Eater, why would there be anything to hide about Black? And for that matter, who would want to hide it?

So many questions, and he somehow doubted the answers would be found in Hermione's copy of 'Hogwarts: A History'...


End file.
